Historic night for Larkin's Kyles

Marlee Kyles scripted a new chapter in Larkin athletic history in the first half of the girls basketball game Friday night in Batavia.

But the second half was even more extraordinary for the Arizona-bound senior.

Kyles scored 19 of her game-high 25 points after halftime, including the final 4 points, in the Royals' 51-48 Upstate Eight Conference River Division win against Batavia.

With her toe resting on the 3-point arc with 1 minute and 41 seconds to play in the second quarter, Kyles drained a jump shot.

It was a historic field goal for the Larkin girls program in general and Kyles in particular.

Kyles surpassed Randy Engle - Class of 1991 - to become the all-time leading scorer, regardless of gender, in Royals' basketball history.

"It's an honor," Kyles said. "I feel awesome about it."

Kyles not only gave Larkin a 49-48 lead with a short jumper in the lane with 27 seconds to play but also had the last of her game-high 6 steals with eight seconds remaining.

Kyles calmly hit both free throws and will play her next game in a Larkin uniform with exactly 1,800 career points.

"(Kyles) is an amazing player," said Batavia sophomore post Geddy Rerko, who had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs (5-11, 3-2). "She played very well. We handled her early, but then she did her thing."

Batavia held Kyles scoreless in the opening quarter as the point guard could manage only 2 shots against the Bulldogs' box-and-one defense and repeated double teams.

"All year," Larkin coach Steve Knapp said of the array of defenses the Royals have encountered in their attempt to neutralize Kyles.

"I have had people triple (team) me sometimes," Kyles said. "I make a way to get around it."

The Royals (8-9, 2-3) struggled offensively coming out of the gate as Batavia took a 22-15 lead at the intermission.

But Kyles jump-started the Royals' offense in the third quarter by scoring half of their 16 points.

Rerko, however, was also a different player after halftime. Scoring 13 of her team-high points in the third and fourth quarters, Rerko gave Batavia its largest lead of the game, 34-24, in the third.

But Kyles seemed to respond on every occasion.

Between scoring in transition off thefts while adding a 3-point play to her lone field goal from beyond the arc, Kyles almost single-handedly reduced the one-time Batavia double-digit lead.

The Royals also benefitted from freshman Aliyah Dixon scoring all 8 of her points in the fourth quarter.

Dixon and Kyles collaborated for 4 straight free throws to give Larkin a 47-45 lead with 67 seconds remaining.

But Batavia guard Hailey Orman hit her third 3-pointer of the game on the ensuing possession to give the Bulldogs their final lead.

Kyles simply took over from there, not only scoring with less than a half-minute to play but also securing the victory with yet another steal.

"I didn't want to go home with a loss," Kyles said